THE SUPRARENAL GLANDS. . 613 



der menschlichen Niere," in "Prag. Viertelj." 1847, III. ; Gr. Johnson, 

 Art. " Ren," in " Cyclop, of Anat.," May, 1848 ; V. Cams, in " Zeitsch. 

 f. wiss. Zool.," II., p. 61 ; v. Wittich, in " Arch, fur path. Anat." III., 

 1, 1849 ; v. Hessling, in " Froriep's N. Notiz.," 1849, p. 264, and " His- 

 tologische Beitrage zur Lehre von der Harnsecretiop," Jena, 1851. Be- 

 sides which should be consulted the usual Manuals of Anatomy, espe- 

 cially those of Henle, Valentin, J. Muller, and myself; the "Memoirs 

 on Development," particularly of Valentin, Rathke, "Abhand zur 

 Entw." II., p. 97; J. Muller, " De Gland, sec. structura";" and lastly, 

 the " Annual Reports of Reichert," 1846 and 1849. 



OF THE SUPRARENAL GLANDS. 



192. The suprarenal glands or capsules, glandulce suprarenales, are 

 a pair of organs, in their structure approaching nearest to the blood-vas- 

 cular glands, but whose function is as yet altogether unknown. Each 

 consists of a moderately firm but thin coat composed of connective 

 tissue, which closely invests the entire organ and is connected by numer- 

 ous processes with the proper parenchyma, composed of a cortical and a 

 medullary substance. The former, substantia corticalis, is more com- 

 pact, J J a line thick, tearing readily in the direction of its thickness, 

 and, when torn, presenting a fibrous aspect. Its color is for the most part 

 whitish-yellow, or yellow, in the innermost third, however, usually pass- 

 ing into brownish yellow or brown, so that in a transverse section, two 

 layers may be distinguished, an external, bright-colored layer and an 

 internal, narrow, dark border. The medullary substance is, normally, 

 of a brighter color than the cortical, being of a grayish-white with a 

 tinge of red, although when its numerous veins are full of blood, it may 

 assume a darker and more venous hue. Its consistence is softer than 

 that of the cortical substance, though not so much so as is usually be- 

 lieved, and with respect to its thickness, it is very inconsiderable (| J 

 of a line) at the thin borders and at the upper and outer extremity of 

 the organ, whilst in the* middle, and in the lower and inner half, it 

 amounts to as much as 1 or even 1J lines. In the dead human subject, 

 the cortical substance very readily becomes detached from the medullary, 

 when the suprarenal gland presents a cavity, frequently occupying the 

 entire organ, and containing a dirty, pultaceous substance derived from 

 the half disintegrated brown layer of the cortex, mixed with blood, to- 

 gether with the less altered medullary substance ; which, however, in 

 more rare instances, also becomes broken up. 



193. Intimate structure. The cortical substance presents as a foun- 

 dation, a delicate meshwork of connective tissue, which, in connection 

 with the tunic and the thin, mutually connected lamina? proceeding from 



